Month: July 2017

Growing up, my family would have the habit of exhausting all our resources. This attitude has helped build me up professionally. There’s been many times that something new and shiny catches the attention of myself and my clients, however, I have to take a step back and remember to be conservative and provide an analysis. Maybe you don’t need that shiny widget right now but if you’re willing to pay for something shiny, go for it.

I believe they call folks who would go for it, Bleeding Edge Adopters. From experience, this can get dangerous. It’s like putting all your money in on a bet that may or may not cash you out. As a safe bet, my dad would fix things that everyone else thought was broken. They called him “MacGuyver” after the popular television show and his legend would grow through the years. Plenty of times he would inherit cars, machinery, computers, microwaves, etc. because an owner didn’t see any value. Most of the time he would get it fixed and end up selling said items.

What’s the lesson from all this? Decisions can be made based on your resources. Whether you have a low budget or an abundance of financial support there’s always a solution. Maybe you’re willing to bet your mortgage to get that new computer that will turn your company around. That’s a calculated risk. Do you have the mechanical, troubleshooting skills and time to fix your issues when it doesn’t work out the way you wanted? It’s just a matter of prioritization, weighing what you’re willing to exhaust to gain that win.

Like this:

I’ve met an array (pun intended) of IT professionals and what’s really interesting is how eclectic we can all be.

It’s funny, a buddy of mine pointed out that we are like artist. We take a lot of creative freedom when it comes to making the solutions we provided. Are you a Microsoft workshop (SharePoint, SQL Server, Windows 10)? Or are you someone who utilizes all free software (WordPress, MySQL, Linux)? Some of us are really passionate about the brand of paint, paintbrushes, and canvas utilized to create art for our customers.

To send this conversation deeper, I think of the How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM) episode where a veterinarian by luck found Lily’s paintings. Dr. Greer discovered that it had a calming effect on the dogs being examined. How is this example relevant? Chances are, some of us IT professionals could be programming and providing solutions that seem useless but there might be a use for it in a different context. The challenge is matching the right art for the right customer. It didn’t matter what brand was used to create the art, Lily found her customer because of the end result.